The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia Parliamentary Delegation to East Timor 3 to 5 September 2003 November 2003 Canberra © Commonwealth of Australia 1999 ISBN 0 642 78446 9 Contents Foreword.............................................................................................................................................vi Membership of the Delegation...........................................................................................................viii Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................ix List of abbreviations ............................................................................................................................ x 1: Introduction ..............................................................................................................1 Objectives and Scope............................................................................................................... 1 East Timor–background information ...................................................................................... 2 Government and politics ............................................................................................................. 2 Economic overview ..................................................................................................................... 4 Australia’s bilateral relations with East Timor.............................................................................. 5 2: Meetings with East Timorese Government, UN Special Representative and Special Sitting of the East Timorese National Parliament .......................................7 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 7 Meetings with President HE Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao, Prime Minister Dr Mari Alkitiri, Acting Minister of the Interior Alcino Barris........................................................................... 8 Meeting with Special Representative of the Secretary-General Mr Kamalesh Sharma..... 14 Special sitting of East Timorese Parliament......................................................................... 16 Background............................................................................................................................... 16 Extraordinary Sitting of Parliament............................................................................................ 17 Conclusions and Observations ............................................................................................. 20 iv 3: Inspection of ADF Contingent (AusBatt VIII).......................................................23 Briefing at Australian National Command Element ................................................................... 23 Inspection of Forward Operating Bases.................................................................................... 24 AusBatt VIII............................................................................................................................... 26 Conclusions and Observations.................................................................................................. 28 4: Inspection of aid programs...................................................................................29 Overview of Australia’s aid program to East Timor ................................................................... 29 Inspection of Dili National Hospital............................................................................................32 Inspection of Geographic Information System at Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry34 Visit to Manatuto district............................................................................................................ 36 Conclusions and Observations.................................................................................................. 41 Appendix A – Speech by His Excellency The President of the National Parliament Mr Francisco Guterres Lu'olo................................................................43 Appendix B – Statement by Head of Delegation, Hon Senator Bill Heffernan. ....45 Appendix C – List of Meetings..................................................................................47 Wednesday 3 September 2003................................................................................................. 47 Thursday 4 September 2003..................................................................................................... 47 Friday 5 September 2003.......................................................................................................... 47 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Senator the Hon Bill Heffernan, President HE Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao, Hon. Dick Adams MP, Mr Peter Lindsay MP........................8 Figure 2.2 Mr Xavier do Amaral (Vice President of the National Parliament); Mr Peter Lindsay MP; Hon. Dick Adams MP; Mr Francisco “Lu’Olo” Guterres (President of the East Timorese National Parliament); Senator the Hon Bill Heffernan; and Mr Adelino Alfonso de Jesus (Director of the Parliament's Secretariat). ...............18 v Figure 2.3 Vice President, East Timorese National Parliament , Mr Jacob Fernandes; Vice President, East Timorese National Parliament, Mr Xavier do Amaral; Mr Peter Lindsay MP; President of the East Timorese National Parliament, Mr Francisco Guterres; Hon. Dick Adams MP; and Senator the Hon. Bill Heffernan..............................................................20 Figure 3.1 Members of the delegation inspecting FOB Moleana..........................24 Figure 3.3 Members of the delegation meeting with Australian troops at FOB Maliana ..........................................................................................25 Figure 3.2 Members of the delegation inspecting the border control point at Junction Point Alpha.................................................................................25 Figure 4.1 Members of the delegation greeting Mr Correia and Dr E.Tako at Dili National Hospital ..........................................................................32 Figure 4.2 The emergency room, Dili National Hospital.......................................34 Figure 4.3 Members of the delegation inspecting land use data produced by the GIS unit ...........................................................................................36 Figure 4.4 Delegation inspecting water and sanitation facilities, Manatuto.......37 Figure 4.5 Meeting with local rice farmers, Manatuto ...........................................38 Figure 4.6 Senator the Hon Bill Heffernan (delegation leader) presenting a cheque to Ms Lina Maria Boavida, head of the OMT ..........................40 Figure 4.7 Children performing traditional dance, Manatuto ..............................40 Foreword During the period 3 to 5 September 2003, a parliamentary delegation comprising the Hon Dick Adams, Mr Peter Lindsay and myself visited East Timor. The delegation fulfilled the broad objective of promoting and enhancing parliamentary relations with East Timor. This delegation had the added significance of being the first Australian Parliamentary delegation to visit East Timor since full independence was achieved in May 2002. The delegation was honoured to be invited to an extraordinary sitting of the East Timorese National Parliament. The visit to East Timor provided the opportunity to better understand and appreciate the challenges the confront East Timor. The delegation was privileged to meet with President Gusmao and Prime Minister Dr Alkitiri to discuss key issues such as political and economic development, security and the impending withdrawal of the United Nations (UNMISET). The delegation noted the enormous advances made by East Timor since the destruction and violence of 1999. This is a testament to the East Timorese people and also the United Nations and the international donor community. We would like to highlight the very good work that is being undertaken under the auspices of AusAID in East Timor, often under very difficult conditions. Nevertheless, the delegation remains concerned about what support will be provided to East Timor after the withdrawal of the United Nations in May 2004. The UN and international donors, including Australia, cannot afford to ignore or downplay the problems faced by East Timor. It is clear that on-going assistance in a range of areas, such as the capacity building in public administration and the legal system, police training, security, health, infrastructure and agricultural development, will be required. The delegation was also privileged to inspect the AusBatt VIII forward operating areas at Moleana, Maliana and Junction Point Alpha. vii The delegation noted the harsh and difficult conditions under which the Australian contingent operates. The success of the Australian contingent in East Timor is a testament to the professionalism and training of the men and women of the Australian Defence Forces. The experience and training received by ADF personnel during Australia’s commitment to East Timor will no doubt have long- lasting benefit to the ADF. Given the concern expressed to the delegation at various times during the visit regarding the withdrawal of the United Nations in 2004, particularly in regard to security, there appears to be room for an expanded effort in the area of public information. Specifically,